Will solar energy ever be a viable alternative to traditional power?

Date: January 2014 Publication: ECN Magazine

An ECN reader wanted to know if solar energy will ever be a viable alternative to traditional power. And IEEE Smart Grid Expert Steven Collier happily responded. Collier noted a key argument that has plagued the solar industry for years: it’s too expensive. However, with government grants, tax credits and other incentives, solar has proved its viability. While solar provides the ideal energy resource for billions of people without access to a traditional power gird, it’s a highly attractive resource that’s sustainable, clean, reliable and independent of the grid. Read more

What’s coming in the Smart Grid?

Date: January 2014
Publication: American City & County

IEEE Smart Grid Expert Steven Collier offers his viewpoints on the importance of recent smart grid developments and how they affect local governments and the current electric utility business model. A modern, intelligent grid—according to Collier—is dependent on distributed energy generation and storage and the Internet of Things. Both of these burgeoning markets will immensely impact today’s smart grid industry by introducing the new “Grid Edge” — the future’s connected grid and the world’s need for cheap, clean energy. Read more

IEEE PES President Noel Schulz discusses a variety of issues regarding the power and energy industry, including its global ubiquity and aging workforce. Schulz also comments on the industry’s embracing of women and a dire need to attract young engineers. Wanda Reder, chair of the IEEE Smart Grid Taskforce, was interviewed about similar topics. Reder shares her insights on how the electric utility industry will change over the decade and how women in the power industry will help influence its future. Read more

Moving Away From Central Power

Date: February 2014
Publication: Electricity Today

The “think globally, act locally” concept is completely in-step with today’s growing infatuation with microgrids—a small-scale power system that provides distributed generation, autonomous load centers and the ability to operate independently. And while microgrids might be the answer to many power problems around the world—such as access and reliability—they need to be managed and monitored closely. For microgrids to reach their optimal performance, the issues of security and resiliency enter the fray. It’s a technology to watch in 2014. Read more

2014 Hot Topics in Renewables

Date: January 2014
Publication: FierceEnergy

Renewables had a banner year in 2013. While natural gas increased in popularity, the economics of wind and solar improved because of federal tax incentives and moderately lower prices. The Solar Energy Industries Association reported that 2013 was one for the record books for solar, as capacity and demand increased. As traditional utilities meet head-to-head with a growing demand for renewables and emerging technologies, such as net metering and increased penetration of distributed generation, 2014 will be watched closely. Read more

Writing Smart Grid Requirements

Date: February 2014
Publication: Electricity Today

The writing of Smart Grid requirements is no longer the work of an isolated group within the utility, merely spelling out its need for a new box. This article written by IEEE's John McDonald discusses how requirements today must reflect a forward-looking, holistic view of the utility’s technology roadmap and take into account the implications for business process and organizational change. It also takes a closer look at 16 foundational Smart Grid standards. Read more

No Newbie Left Behind: How to Help Train the Next Generation Workforce

Date: December 2013
Publication: Utility Horizons

With large numbers of the utility workforce retiring, recruitment of engineering students is underway, and many young engineers will soon be entering the workforce. Yet the specifics on how best to train them once they are "on-the-job" still remain unclear. In this article, Wanda Reder discusses what the utility industry can do to ensure that incoming “newbie” engineers and other professionals are prepared, to not only to replace the retiring workforce, but also to excel with the many new technologies being introduced as the rollout of the smart grid comes to fruition nationwide. Read more.

The Smart Grid 2014 and Beyond: A New Grid Model

Date: December 6, 2013 Publication: Breaking Energy

Steven looks into the coming year and forecasts grassroots adoption of new energy practices, the rise of empowerment at the Grid Edge, and the technology and business developments that will follow this new movement. Read more.

Three recommendations for advancing the smart grid evolution

Date: November 13, 2013
Publication: Intelligent Utility

In this article, IEEE Smart Grid expert Anjan Bose writes about the importance of taking a more universal, all-inclusive view of the grid, putting more money into grid research, and bringing the policy makers in closer contact with the researchers to help facilitate deployment of significant new technology developments. Read more.

Microgrids introduce issues for utilities

Date: October 30, 2013
Publication: Intelligent Utility

Examples of microgrid deployments illustrate not only the virtues of microgrids in areas such as energy security, sustainability, and economic benefits, but also the associated challenges of integrating this distributed generation into a utility system, including storage and operational considerations and the impacts of changing microgrid technologies, fuel and grid energy costs, and interconnection standards. Read more.